This invention relates to carry handles in general and more specifically relates to flush mounted carry handles that can also be used as pulls.
Carry handles and pulls, as such, have been known for many years. A typical example of a carry handle is the familiar U-shaped metal bar which is fastened to an object by screws or the like whereby a space is created between the bar and the object to accommodate the fingers when the object is being lifted. Such handles could also be used as pulls if they are affixed to a movable portion of the object, such as a drawer or the like.
These U-shaped handles, by their nature, protruded away from the object and often interfered with transporting the object, particularly through narrow openings such as doorways, etc. Furthermore, because these handles were secured to the object at an angle normal to the lifting force, the carrying capacity of the handles was limited to the sheer strength of the fasteners or the bending strength of the panel to which they were fastened.
Flush mounted pulls are also generally known and typically comprise a one-piece molded plastic cup which has a slightly inwardly sloping back wall which provides a space to accommodate the fingertips. Due to limitations in the manufacturing process, however, it was impossible to design such a pull whereby the fingers could have sufficient grip to lift the object by the pull.
Another type of known flush mounted pull is little more than an aperture in the drawer face which is surrounded by a decorative plastic or metal frame on the drawer face. Although these pulls functioned quite well as pulls, they provided little protection for the fingers in the event that the pull was attempted to be used as a handle for lifting or carrying the object.